The God’s burden..
My father has an interesting theory
–Mahatma Gandhi would not have been the God he is if he had died an infirm old
man…his life was tragically snuffed out when India was basking in its new found
freedom, a time when India had more to look forward to than to look back at..
not being linked to the decay that set in post independence has made the
greatness associated with the Mahatma only stronger and more
powerful. He remains, 64 years after his demise, synonymous with lofty
ideals and a venerable institution.
While the Gods have played a role in bringing an abrupt end
to the Mahatma’s innings, there are stories of ordinary mortals who have called
it a day at the right time to retain their mystique and aura.
Sunil Gavaskar, for one, knew the art of timing well. His
last test innings was among the greatest played by an Indian and he knew that
it is best to quit when people asked why rather than why not.
Today, 25 years after he has retired, he remains India’s best opening batsman. And, respected too.
For every Gavaskar, there is a Kapil Dev, a Vishwanath,
a Shastri, a Sidhu who did not know the art of timing and do not command
the same respect and awe.
Alas, the problem continues with the heroes of today too.
Sachin - A man who
unifies the country, a man who has made us feel proud of being an Indian, a man
who has given us a billion reasons to smile, is needlessly making a transition
from being an immortal to a mortal.
For those of us who believe it is quite harsh (there are
still millions who believe SRT should retire when Rajinikanth does his last
film), here are some statistics. The backbone of the middle order has been
formed by SRT, RD and VVS over the last few years. In the last six series
played by them (it includes the 3 tests of the England series), Rahul Dravid
averaged 49.6, VVS averaged 39.1 and SRT averages 38.7. and, tragically for us
the man who performed the best is no longer in the team, the person with the
second best average was forced to quit, sans any pomp and dignity and the man with
the lowest average continues to play, thinking it is his divine right to play
for India as long as he desires.
But, for the first time
in this generation, millions of Indians have come together to say – Tendulkar,
it is time to move on.
It is ok if atheists start vilifying God, but it is
absolutely dangerous if believers start vilifying God. That is the day when the
raison d’etre
of God is itself under question.
Sachin has done enough in the last 20 years to make Indians
believe that in India, Cricket is a Religion and Sachin is our God. He gave us
reasons to switch on our TV sets to watch Cricket and switch them off when he
got out. He told us that we can be world beaters. He showed us that we can go
out and best the best of the teams in their conditions. Alas, this is in the
past tense.
The case is not true anymore. Today any bowler who can bowl
fast, any spinner who can flight the ball fancies his
chances of getting Tendulkar
out. While it used to shock us some years back to see Tendulkar get flummoxed
by bowlers, today, it is more often the norm rather than the exception.
The question is, why is the God letting himself into this
trap? Does he not realize that the aura of invincibility lasts longer and has
more prestige than a few more runs and a few more centuries? Does he not
understand the timeless appeal of mystique? Does he not know that, having
become God, he always needs to carry the Cross of
expectation, that he is bound by the burden of ?
Tomorrow, Tendulkar will
eventually call it a day. And, we sentimental Indians will have reams of
newsprint and millions of megabytes filled with maudlin analysis of Sachin the
God.
But, the true Cricket fan knows, this man missed the plot
when it came to calling it a day and remain deified for ever.
